This invention relates generally to insect pick-up devices, and in particular to a flexible finger covering that utilizes an adhesive coating for collecting lice and nits from an infected person's scalp and hair.
Head lice (Pediculus capitis) are small parasitic insects that live on the human scalp and lay eggs in the hair. The head louse is a wingless, active insect that has six legs for fast crawling mobility. Its legs are equipped with powerful claws that are used to cling to the hair shaft. The female louse is approximately 2.4-3.3 mm in length (FIG. 4) and the male is slightly smaller. The whitish-tan nits (eggs) are about 0.8 mm in length (FIG. 5) and are barely visible without magnification.
Despite the availability of modern chemical insecticide treatments and community eradication programs, head lice infestations remain endemic in the U.S. Although head lice are not responsible for the spread of any disease, head lice infestations continue to cause considerable discomfort and social distress. Infestation is acquired mainly by head-to-head contact with an infested person's hair and by sharing towels, hats, pillows, combs, brushes and other grooming accessories. Head lice may also reside temporarily on bed linen and upholstered furniture. The infestation by head lice is known as pediculiasis, and the associated disease is referred to as pediculosis. Chemical treatments directed against lice are referred to as pediculicides.
Head lice derive nutrients by blood feeding at least once each day and cannot survive for more than about two days at room temperature without ready access to a living host. A nymphal louse hatches from its egg after about eight days of development, and begins to feed, grow and develop until it attains the adult form, typically two to three weeks after hatching. A female louse may deposit more than one hundred eggs at a rate of about six eggs per day. Generally, an infested person has fewer than a dozen active lice on the scalp at any time, but may have hundreds of viable, dead and hatched eggs.
The symptoms, if any, of head lice infestation are usually mild, with itching being the main complaint. Occasionally, there may be excoriations and crusting, and secondary bacterial infection with regional lymphodenopathy. Those persons with only a very light infestation (1-5 lice) and those who do not react to the anti-coagulant serum that the louse injects locally as it takes its blood meal may be without symptoms. In such cases, the lice and eggs can be detected only by careful inspection of the scalp and hair. The adult louse is usually found in the hairline at the nape of the neck and behind the ears.
The female louse lays her eggs on a hair follicle shaft within 3-4 mm from the scalp. The oval eggs are firmly attached by an organic cement secretion that resists removal by unmedicated shampoo. The eggs take about a week to hatch, leaving the empty egg shells still attached to the hair shaft. As the hair grows, about 1 cm/month, the nit is shifted farther away from the scalp. Since the hatched nit shells are empty, they are not a source of re-infestation.
Currently, there is no satisfactory method to get rid of an infestation except by chemical treatment. Compounds from several classes of insecticides have been applied as shampoos, cremes and lotions to kill head lice, including cyclodienes, DDT, permethrin, pyrethrin, Malathion, organo-chlorines, pyrethrin and pyrethroid. The active ingredients of these formulations act on the central nervous system of the louse and are inherently toxic to humans as well. Given the toxicity of pediculicides, there is a continuing interest in developing head lice treatment protocols which minimize the use and exposure to potentially toxic compounds, and which can be used effectively for eliminating infestation.
Moreover, because most of the currently available insecticides that are applied topically have an underlying chemical similarity, if resistance develops to one class, it may extend to some degree to all compounds, resulting in difficulty in controlling infestations by chemical means alone. Even if the toxicity of a particular compound is disregarded, many products such as pyrethrin are contraindicated for persons with certain allergies, for example to ragweed and chrysanthemums.
After treatment with an appropriate pediculicide, comb removal of nits may not be sufficient to prevent reinfestation, since most nits are empty eggs. Viable eggs are usually located too close to the scalp to be removed with a comb and are best treated with an insecticide which penetrates the egg and kills the developing nymph. In some instances, a second application of the pediculicide within seven to ten days is recommended in order to kill any lice hatched from eggs that were not killed by the first application.
Because of their miniature size, and because of their location on or close to the scalp, it is easy to overlook some active lice and viable eggs. Although a fine toothed nit comb can be used effectively to scrape and collect some nits and lice from the scalp, some viable nits can be overlooked. Active lice can evade collection and capture and may subsequently be transferred to the skin or clothing of a new host or will reinfest the original host. Consequently, there is a continuing interest in improving the mechanical devices for collecting, capturing and removing nits and lice that remain after chemical treatment.
Mechanical removal of lice and viable nits is the most effective but most time consuming method for follow-on treatment. Conventional mechanical collection devices include combs, brushes and adhesive traps. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,232 discloses a collector sheath combined with a comb. The collector sheath contains deposits of adhesive in dimpled pockets inside the sheath. As the comb is pulled through the hair, insects such as lice and nits are separated from the hair follicles by the comb, and are collected within the sheath. Some of the insects and eggs are captured by contact with the adhesive deposits. The comb also includes a spring-loaded door which prevents the live insects from escaping from the collection space.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,293, a "fly swatter" device includes a pair of folded sheets that are coated with adhesive. The sheets are folded back, presenting a pair of adhesive faces for contact with a crawling or flying insect. After use, the folded sheets are pressed together, thus trapping and encapsulating the collected insect for hygienic disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,855 discloses an adhesive block that is secured to a handle for trapping insects. Several layers of adhesive sheets are secured to the pick-up face of the block. After use, an adhesive strip with a trapped insect is pulled off for disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,142 discloses a roller device including a layer of adhesive for attracting and trapping insects.